JAN 2006 APA Newsletter

Editress: Ginger Strivelli
2006 can y’all believe it..and already a 12th over with at that.
Times flies indeed.
We had another of our infamous APA’s ladies night out events
this month..alas not in Egypt again..but Hendersonville….
pales in comparison I know…and alas also no one was able to
attend but me Paula and a non-Pagan friend she brought with.
I expect a bunch y’all to join us next time in late Feb. or
early march for the next APA LNO.
FROM OUR BOOK OF SHADOWS:
Homeric Hymn of Bacchus
(as translated by Leigh Hunt)
Of Bacchus let me tell a sparkling story. --
'Twas by the sea-side, on a promontory,
As like a blooming youth he sat one day,
His dark locks ripening in the sunny ray,
And wrapt in a loose cloak of crimson bright,
Which half gave out his shoulders, broad and white,
That making up, a ship appear'd at sea,
Brushing the wine-black billows merrily,--
A Tuscan trim, and pirates were the crew;
A fatal impulse drove them as they flew;
For looking hard, and nodding to each other,
Concluding him, at least, some prince's brother,
They issued forth along the breezy bay,
Seiz'd him with jovial hearts, and bore away.
No sooner were they off, than gath'ring round him
They mark'd his lovely strength, and would have bound him;
When lo, instead of this, the ponderous bands
Snapp'd of themselves from off his legs and hands,
He, all the while, discovering no surprise,
But keeping, as before, his calm black eyes.
At this, the Master, struck beyond the rest,
Drew them aside, and earnestly addressed; ---
"O wretched as ye are, have ye your brains,
And see this thing ye would hold with chains?
Trust me, the ship will not sustain him long;
For either Jove he is, terribly strong,
Or Neptune, or the silver-shafted King,
But nothing, sure, resembling mortal thing.
Land him and set him free, lest by and by
He call the winds about him, and we die."
He said, and thus, in bitterness of heart
The Captain answered, -- "Wretched that thou art!
Truly we've much to fear, -- a favouring gale,
And all things from behind the running sail!
Stick to thy post, and leave these things to men.
I trust, my friends, before we sail again,
To touch at Egypt, Cyprus, or the north,
And having learnt meantime our prisoner's worth,
What friends he has, and wealth to what amount,
To turn this god-send to a right account."
He said, and hauling up the sail and mast,
Drew the tight vessel stiff before the blast;
The sailors, under arms, observed their prize,
When lo, strange doings interrupt their eyes;
For first, a fountain of sweet-smelling wine
Came gushing o'er the deck with sprightly shine;
And odours, not of earth, their senses took;
The pallid wonder spread from look to look;
And then a vine-tree over-ran the sail,
Its green arms tossing to the pranksome gale;
And then an ivy with flowering shoot,
Ran up the mast in rings, and kiss'd the fruit,
Which here and there the dipping vine let down;
On every oar there was a garland crown. --
But now the crew called out "To shore! To shore!"
When leaping backward with an angry roar,
The dreadful stranger to a lion turn'd;
His glaring eyes beneath the matches burn'd:
Then rushing forward, he became a bear,
With fearful change bewildering their despair;
And then again a lion, ramping high
From seat to seat, and looking horribly.
Heap'd at the stern, and scrambling all along,
The trembling wretches round the Master throng,
Who calmly stood, for he had done no wrong.
Oh, at that minute to be safe on land!
But now, in his own shape, the God's at hand,
And spurning first the Captain from the side,
The rest leap'd after in the plunging tide;
For one and all, as they had done the same,
The same deserv'd; and dolphins they became.
The God then turning to the Master, broke
In happy-making smiles, and stoutly spoke --
"Be of good courage, blest companion mine;
Bacchus am I, the roaring God of Wine;
And well shall this day be, for thee and thine."
And so, all reverence and all joy to thee,
Son of the sparkle-smiling Semele!
Must never bard forget thee in his song,
Who mak'st it flow so sweetly and so strong.
￼￼
Quotable Quotes
Marcus Aurelius:
“People ask me: ‘why do you honor the gods, when you have
never seen them?’ I answer; ‘I have never seen my own soul,
yet I honor it too.’ I constantly experience the power of
both my soul and the gods, and from this I understand that
they exist, and deserve to be honored.”
Nietzsche:
“The consequences of our actions take hold of us
quite indifferent to our claim that meanwhile we have "improved.”
Confucius:
To see and listen to the wicked is already the beginning of wickedness.
Carl Sagan:
“Our ancestors worshipped the Sun, and they were not that foolish.
It makes sense to revere the Sun and the stars, for we are their children.”